Golf Courses Must Also Prepare for Hazards

Tomorrow, some of the best golfers in the world will head to Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia to compete in the first of the sport’s four majors, the historic Masters Tournament. The club has always hosted the tournament, making the course more familiar but no less challenging to the players. One of the course’s most challenging elements, the Eisenhower Tree near the 17th hole, had to be removed this year after suffering damage from an ice storm. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, who won the Masters six times, said he hit the tree more times than he cared to remember.

I mention all this because golf facilities around the country share one thing in common — risk. Errant shots can hit people or property. Golf carts can get into accidents. Players can win hole-in-one contests and expect to receive a prize. An article I wrote for the April issue of Rough Notes magazine explores the risks that golf facilities face — and the ISO insurance policies that can cover them.

If you have any questions about ISO’s Golf Course Market Segments program, please contact me at PPrial@iso.com. And if you’re struggling to improve your game, remember what the late President Gerald Ford once said: “I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators.”

Patricia Prial is Manager of the Commercial Property Line Division at Insurance Services Office (ISO). She began her career at ISO in 1988, and has worked in various senior staff and management positions in commercial lines product development areas, the forms consulting unit and the government relations division. As manager of Commercial Property, Pat is responsible for overseeing the development, revision, maintenance and enhancement of ISO's Commercial Property and Market Segments lines of business.